Hi all
Just picked up Thomsons new cruise brochure.
Smoking policy now draconion'.Quote=
"Smoking is only permitted in strictly designated areas on open deck,
Smoking is not permitted anywhere inside of ship".
So it looks like they have even taken out the smoking area (40 seats)in the one bar it was allowed.
What happens when ship safety officer closes all outside decks due to high winds etc.
As this brochure is dated April 08 to Oct 09 what happens to all the smokers who booked this years cruise last year when policy was different.
When i cancelled my cruise for Oct this year because of newly introduce smoking ban in cabins they refuses deposit refund because it was not a major change.
I think this is a major change for smokers !!.It will be a miserable cruise holiday.
Please,,,i am not writing about the rights/wrongs of smoking but changing of policy after people have booked holiday with no rights to cancel holiday without loss of in some cases lots of money.
I don't wonder Thomsons are taking Emerald out of service,they will struggle to fill remaining ships.
The othert thing that really takes the bicuit is Thomsons are taking bookings online where the FAQs on smoking policy says Quote=
"Bars are divided into smoking + non smoking sections.
Smoking is permitted in cabins,but stromgly discouraged".
I think this is disgraceful.
Smokers beware of Thomson cruises.
Johnny C

What happens when ship safety officer closes all outside decks due to high winds etc.

Exactly- or if you are confined to your cabin with a stomach bug?
I will be interested to see what happens on our forthcoming Calypso cruise.
Usually book up to a year ahead, and have been with Thomson's for the last 4 years, but think I will wait and see in future, as those conditions would be too restrictive for us. Can't afford to spend money on a holiday we won't enjoy.
Whenever possible we go outside to smoke, but on a ship it's not always an option.
kate

Hi there Johnny C,

Confirmed what you said with Thomson's, also last year you could smoke in one half of the outside Lido, not any more " because food is served ".
Going on the repositioning cruise ( Palma to Newcastle upon Tyne ) tomorrow the 25th April, it will be our 14th cruise with Thomson's so we are not novices and have been expecting this and feel it will be our last cruise. I am nearly 70 and although I am down from over 40 cigs/day to about 7 or 8 I still enjoy smoking. Most smokers feel so brow beaten by the Draconian lack of tolerance that few will rebel, but I find I have to be careful and devious. ie. carry a small portable pocket ash tray ( £1 from Pound Shop ) and a powerful aerosol deodouriser spray for the bathroom/toilet/shower ( not easy to fumigate bedding curtains etc, but a tiled area with constant air change no problem ). They have to catch you first, a locked door and a do not disturb sign works wonders
A bit of VERY CIVIL disobedience and without a quite clear notice of penalties there is not much they can do, you are not breaking any law, you are not in the UK and it is not a UK registered ship ( Thomson Celebration registered in Dutch Antilles )
I will let you know how things were when I get back, and if you read in the news about two elderly twins kicked off cruise for smoking infractions then you know who they are

Cheers,

Dave.

Good for you Johnny C.

Well we are only back three weeks from the Celebration, and the NEW rules re smoking in cabins etc were well in force on our cruise
BUT smokers were allowed to smoke on the Lido deck outside of the Lido restaurant....ok only on half of the tables......but you were allowed to smoke!

Don't think we'll be booking any more cruises in a hurry either. If we do it'll be last minute when, presumably, the smoking policy will at least be current.

Hi there, what is the policy on Cunard Queen Vic and costa cruises. We are looking to book very soon and I cannot have a 'no smoking' holiday

If the smoking rules on Thomsons ships are stricter than ever then I really am looking forward to my fourth cruise with them! The one bar on the Celebration where smoking was allowed last year was a no-go zone for many people. The health benefits of cruising are now even better!

don't you think your comment is somewhat 'inflammatory' danger man?

ONE bar out of how many?

I don't think this is the place to comment on the rights or wrongs of the smoking policies. What I will say is that the one bar that allowed smoking on the Celebration last year was also one that featured a lot of entertainment and games (sorry, can't remember its name). As such a number of people complained that this bar effectively became one they were unable to use. I would be more than happy to have a bar that was open to smokers but don't feel that one used by familes is suitable.

i can honestly say it bye bye thomson for me i will go elsewere

we aint even in the uk

so uk smoking rules dont apply

thomson should have smoking and non smoking ships

im off on destiny next week and truely aint looking forward to it now

Thomsons' website says that: "smoking is only permitted in strictly designated areas of the open deck. Smoking is not permitted anywhere inside the ship."

That seems quite clear although I do empathise with those people who booked a cruise in good faith believing that that they would be able to smoke. Whether or not this is a fundemental change to your booking giving you a right to cancel is another matter entirely and probably depends on your point of view. As a non-smoker I personally can't see that it is. If I were a 20 a day man who couldn't live without the odd puff, I may think differently.

Smokers are now in the minority, certainly in the western word, and so may well have to get used to the new rules as more and more carriers follow suit. Perhaps smoking only ships are the answer, although they would probably not be cost effective and I pity the poor crew!

danger man pull your head in mate we all have our opinions
and i still think thomson should have written and told us a lot earlier so we had a choice to cancel

Web pages can be changed from day to day, or even more frequently, so it's probably a good idea to print out the important bits at the time of booking and then there can be no argument about what was being stated at the time, although, from what has been said here about Thomsons it wouldn't be a lot of help if you wanted to cancel you would at least have evidence if you wanted to take it further.

Hi,

Back from the transition cruise on the Thomson Celebration. It was my 14th cruise with Thomsons and sadly it will be my last. The draconian anti smoking rules have worked and have driven me away. Fortunately I was on what must have been the last cruise with last years rules with just the one bar with limited smoking inside, and you were lucky if you could get a seat in the smoking area. That must mean something All smokers know smoking is not good for either ourselves or others but have to accept it is a drug addiction and most of us try to be considerate to others. I just wish Thomsons would tell the truth, the new rules are mainly PC related, and they don't really care one way or the other but no smoking saves them a fortune in lower cleaning costs and even more so in energy costs of air conditioning to keep areas smoke free.
The rules are not such a big thing in the Med where it is warm, but on Baltic cruises it will be like standing outside your local Pub in the howling wind and rain, not my idea of fun.
Still only time will tell, you may have only one smoker in a family of four, but if that one smoker stops going, then you have lost four not just one.

Cheers

Dave

The point is that here you have to stand outside your Pub irrespective of the weather so what is the difference.
Many Countries now have very restrictive or no smoking polidy. Ireland Australia etc etc.

I do sympathise with you but as a non smoker I don't like to be subjected to smoky atmosphere. The same discussion was on the Celebrity Cruise boards as people can no longer smoke in their staterooms or on the balconies. It is a discussion which will go on for many a long day.
There are still some designated areas where people can smoke but I consider that in time all or almost all Cruise Lines will adopt this no smoking rule.

Sue

the new rules are mainly PC related, and they don't really care one way or the other but no smoking saves them a fortune in lower cleaning costs and even more so in energy costs of air conditioning to keep areas smoke free.

The new rules are mainly related to the health and safety of staff working in such areas and designed to protect them from passive smoking and hence also protect the operators from being sued by non-smoking staff who contract lung cancer. It's the thought that the same rules will now apply on ships as apply in public areas in hotels and pubs etc that is actually tempting me to consider cruising in future. Hence why I've taken to browsing this forum for ideas and info. So potentially, for every smoking customer they lose, they might gain a non-smoking one.

SM

"...even more so in energy costs of air conditioning to keep areas smoke free."

Are you saying that air conditioning has been switched off on board ships? On previous cruises I have not noticed that air conditioning has only been confined to smoking areas. And air conditioning in such areas has little impact on the smokey atmosphere. It's a bit of a myth that aircon keeps places smoke free - although only non smokers would know that, I suppose.

It's the thought that the same rules will now apply on ships as apply in public areas in hotels and pubs etc that is actually tempting me to consider cruising in future.

I thought passenger ships were exempt from the new rules even in British Waters.